No. 8 Villanova Beats Undermanned Seton Hall 83-67

PHILADELPHIA, PA - DECEMBER 7: Head coach Jay Wright of the Villanova Wildcats reacts against the St. Joseph's Hawks on December 7, 2013 at Hagan Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)

JayVaughn Pinkston added 17 points, Ryan Arcidiacono had 14 and the Wildcats (14-1, 3-0 Big East) shot 52 percent from the field and 3-point range in beating Seton Hall (10-6, 1-2) for the 11th time in the last 12 games.

Villanova has shot at least 50 percent from the field in its last three games, and four of five.

Brian Oliver had 20 points to lead Seton Hall, which has lost two straight for the first time this season.

The Pirates played without swingman Fuquan Edwin, their second leading scorer, and Eugene Teague, their top rebounder. Edwin, who beat Villanova last season with a 3-pointer at the buzzer, has a knee injury. Teague missed his third straight game with a concussion.

After Oliver hit a 3-pointer in the opening seconds to give Seton Hall its only lead, Villanova went on a 14-3 spurt to take an eight-point lead. Arcidiacono started the run with two 3s, Pinkston added a three-point play and Hilliard made a layup after James Bell hit another 3.

Villanova, which made 14 from long range in routing Providence in its last game, hit six of its first eight 3-pointers.

The Wildcats led by 11 points in the first half, but the Pirates shot well from the field and pulled to 38-32 at the half after a layup by Stephane Manga.

Villanova didn’t pull away until the midway point of the second half when Josh Hart scored seven straight points in a run that stretched the lead to double digits.

Seton Hall never cut the lead below 10 points and the final margin was the Wildcats’ biggest.